Truth and Justice Radio
|
|
|
LOCAL EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS |
25 Actions to Support Gaza JusticeBoycott Israeli Products and Services! |
|
|
Continuing Events Announcements |
Sun |
Mon |
Tues |
Wed |
Thur |
Fri |
Sat |
Future |
TJR EVENT ARCHIVE |
27 DIRT CHEAP MONEY DANCES is about...money.
Money pretends to be everybody's good uncle but
clearly is neither uncle nor good. It lures junior
citizens into its university and then grinds them up
in its wage slavery mill. You give it a finger and it
grabs you, body and soul, until you flee to Lubberland
and fight it with all the available garbage weaponry
of the money civilization. The dirt-cheap money dances
won't solve the money problems because those solutions
are the subject matter of Hell. Therefore the
frolicking dances take money to its public execution
in the time-honored military style which says: to hell
with it. And consequently you do a potato dance to
realize your own soul's similarity to the dirt-covered
spud. In these dances, the money-deficient dancers of
Lubberland will employ Karl Marx to put the dirt-cheap
aspects of money into timely perspective.
Why a Lubberland Dance Company?
In the 1950s Peter Schumann (Bread & Puppet's founder)
moved from Germany to New York to work with Merce
Cunningham's modern dance troupe. Schumann was both a
choreographer and a sculptor with an interest in
reviving the avant-garde and folkloric arts that had
been diminished in the Second World War. The merging
of these forms laid the foundations for the Bread &
Puppet Theater, whose puppets can be considered
"choreographed sculpture" steeped in a tradition of
experimental rusticism. After over 40 years of being
known for his puppetry, Schumann has returned to his
roots by forming The Lubberland Dance Company with a
mixed group of dancers and non-dancers. So far the
Lubberland Dances have only been seen in Vermont and
New York City. This tour will bring more people to see
- and to perform as - Lubberland Dancers in cities and
towns around North America.
The Lubberland National Dance Company is an itinerant
dance company that specializes in problem solving
dances, victory dances for victories and collateral
damage dances for victims. The repertory also includes
wedding dances for normally hostile populations and
their rulers, national funeral dances in response to
the most recent wars of Lubberland and total peace and
harmony dances with no meaning whatsoever.
We're NOW BOOKING for the Big Spring Tour! If
interested in attending the B&P performance please contact:
Maura Gahan
802-525-3031
802-525-4515
Sunday, March 15, St Patrick's Day in South Boston Veterans for Peace Smedley Brigade will picket the morning events (St Patrick's Day Breakfast) at the new Boston Convention Center, Summer and D St , So. Boston and then will march over to 'D' St and Broadway with all our signs. Smedley Brigade ask that you join the protest with your relevant peace signs. Members of the local Stop the Wars Coalition will be will be passing out “Troops Home Now!” stickers and publicizing the March on the Pentagon.
Ellen O'Brien asks, "What do we--as taxpayers, activists, community organizers, residents of Boston and the world--gain or lose at a time when major networks and newspapers have less resources and opportunity for growth than ever before?"
Ellen, daughter of our beloved John O'Brien, is a longtime magazine and newspaper journalist who also has considerable experience in radio and television. However, she has worked at an online publishing company for the technology community the last six years. She will talk about the demise of traditional media outlets and the rise of citizen journalism, bloggers and user-generated content. Come and learn a thing or two!
You are welcome to join. The program will be short and compressed due to time constraints.
It starts at 11:30AM, though you should plan to arrive a little earlier.
This is about 1 mile east from where Rt. 27 and Rt. 20 intersect.
The ICB is on the left coming from Rt. 27.
The ICB is on the right coming from Rt. 128.
Parking could be full. Try parking on Pine Brook Road nearby.
Courage of Conscience Speaking Tour Schedule
Israeli Yaniv Rashef, whose home is in range of Gaza missiles, was a foot soldier in a sabotage unit of the Israeli Army – and chose to fight no more. Palestinian Bassam Aramin served seven years in jail for planning an attack against Israeli soldiers – and chose no more violence. Just two years ago, Bassam lost his daughter to an Israeli soldier’s rubber- coated bullet. They are Combatants for Peace, now over 600 former Israeli soldiers and former Palestinian fighters, working together without revenge to build justice, peace – and playgrounds.
Join The Congregational
Church of Needham and the Guatemala Partnership for a concert to benefit
education initiatives in our partner village of Santa Marîa Tzeja in Guatemala.
Traditional, folkloric and popular music from
Guatemala marimba
TICKET INFORMATION:
adult: $15
child: $10
More info: the church office 781-444-2510
Make a note of Thursday, March 19. This date marks the Sixth Anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq. In addition to our regular Vigil in Newton Center (held every Thursday in Newton Center from 5-6PM) we are encouraging people to join with the WCES (Watertown Citizens for Environmental Safety) AND the Concerned Watertown Citizens for a Special Vigil marking this anniversary.
SPECIAL PEACE VIGIL in Watertown Square. Multiple-town UJP groups will join together in Watertown Square to commemorate the 6th year of US war against Iraq. To remember that the war continues while teachers are not hired; bridges and roads are not repaired; healthcare is denied or deferred. To rememeber that the war continues in the midst of the worst economic decline since the Depression and while unemployment, foreclosures, homelessness, and despair increase.
Newton Dialogues is also cosponsoring the following event in Watertown with the WCES. People who have heard these men's stories have been very affected and have lost at least some of their feelings of despair over the possibility of reconciliation between the citizens of Israel and of the Palestinian (or "Occupied") territories. There is a lot to learn from people who have overcome their hatred and are developing alternatives to the cycles of death and destruction.
Elizabeth Fink (Included), Beverly Axelrod (Included), Marilyn Buck (Included), Donald Cox (Included), Roz Payne (Editor), Bobby Seale (Included), and Kathleen Neal Cleaver (Included)
"The invaluable Movement documentaries Newsreel produced furthered the work of the Black Panther Party and now provide the essential visual record of the Party's early days. This new dvd collection offers an extraordinary compilation that includes historic behind the scenes details taken from a wide range of interviews and contemporary events as well as the classic Newsreel films."—Kathleen Cleaver, Communications Secretary, Black Panther Party, 1967–1971
Please bring $ for donations. This is a fundraiser for Haymarket Books, publisher of Black Liberation and Socialism any amount will be accepted, but the more the better. thank you.
On March 16, 2003, U.S. peace activist Rachel Corrie was killed by the Israeli military as she was nonviolently trying to protect a Palestinian home from being destroyed.
On the 6th anniversary of her death, the US Campaign is honoring Rachel's memory by supporting student activism for justice in the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Today, we are announcing our Fall 2009 Campus Organizing Tour. We're also supporting Hampshire College's recent efforts to divest from corporations that profit from Israel's illegal military occupation - including Caterpillar, the company which made the bulldozer that crushed Rachel Corrie.
Learn more about Rachel Corrie's life and work on our website.
Take Action - Continue Rachel's work with the action steps below.
1. Email Caterpillar's board of directors and demand accountability for the death of Rachel Corrie and the destruction of Palestinian homes. Not only have Caterpillar bulldozers destroyed tens of thousands of Palestinian homes, vast swaths of Palestinian agricultural lands, and killed Rachel Corrie and dozens of Palestinians during home demolitions, they were also used by the Israeli military as part of "Operation Cast Lead" to destroy Palestinian civilian infrastructure inthe Gaza Strip.
2. Hold a vigil, memorial or other event honoring Rachel Corrie's life & legacy. Use the tools on our website to learn more about Rachel's life and work, plan your own memorial event and post it for others to find on our website.
3. Send an email supporting Students for Justice in Palestine and divestment at Hampshire College. These student activists have pushed their campus to be the first in the U.S. to divest from the Israeli occupation - now let's keep it that way by congratulating the college president & chairman of the board of trustees.
4. Tell a friend about Rachel Corrie's story and ask them to take action in her memory.
5. Support the US Campaign's ongoing work targeting Caterpillar and other corporations supporting Israel's illegal military occupation.
While Monday, March 16th marks the 6th anniversary of Rachel's death, we're taking action to end the injustices that she fought against throughout the month of March.
March is boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) month for our coalition and we invite you to take action all month long - organize boycott & divestment campaigns in your community, work with campus and community groups to apply to host our fall 2009 campus organizing tour or host an educational event about BDS. Click here for more information about our ongoing boycott of Motorola or click here to sign up to get materials to spread the boycott in your community. We'll wrap up our month of BDS action with the March 30th International BDS Action Day. Visit our website for action ideas, a list of March 30th events, and to post your own event.
Join Unbound for a discussion with Tariq Ali on the war in Afghanistan and US policy in the region. Tariq Ali is a novelist, historian, political campaigner and an editor of the New Left Review. A leading figure of the international left since the 60s, his latest book is The Duel: Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power.
Contact tkrever@jd11.law.harvard.edu for info.
In keeping the momentum going following Israel's atrocious assault on Gaza, the loose emergency coalition that formed in opposition to that attack continues to meet to organize around the issue. The group has decided to take on Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) as an umbrella framework through which to plan and organize. Under that umbrella are multiple groups that work on actions, educational events, media messaging, campus activism...etc. If you are interested in organizing around the issue of Palestine, please join us (even if your interests are not BDS-specific).
Visit For BDS Basics.
A proposal in response to the severe cuts to the Boston Public Schools budget calls for school reassignments, school closings, and transportation cuts that disproportionately penalize already under resourced schools in neighborhoods of color. Myriam Ortiz, Acting Director of the Boston Parent Organizing Network (BPON), will give a presentation/discussion on what parents are saying about
· The potential solutions presented by district
· The solutions to the budget crisis from the parents’ perspective
· What can be done to improve the quality of education for all students
The Boston Parent Organizing Network (BPON) supports and advocates for the improvement of the Boston Public Schools. Because of BPON’s effectiveness, parents and families who are marginalized by socioeconomic status, race, language, disability and immigration status directly influence decision making at all levels of the Boston Public School System.
The current public discourse around race assumes that we live in a color-blind society where the American Dream is attainable by all individuals who work hard enough. This deeply flawed discourse obscures the racial disparities in employment, education, criminal justice, housing, health care, etc. and provides a powerful but faulty rationale for leaving our systems and institutions the way they are. The issues presented at the Community Change Brown Bag Discussion Series are concrete examples of the structural racism that affects the lives of all, most acutely communities of color. The 2009 Series places these issues in their social/historical context and gives attendees a truthful discourse, as well as ways to put that discourse into action, in order to challenge institutional and systemic racism.
Please join us as we mark the Persian New Year and the long-awaited beginning of Spring with traditional food, drink, and a cultural program!
This event is open to the public.
Co-sponsored with the Outreach Center at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the Outreach Program of the Davis Center for Russian & Eurasian Studies, the Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Islamic Studies Program and the Hassan Nemazee Fund.
The involvement of health professionals in human rights and humanitarian law violations has again become a live issue as a consequence of the U.S. prosecution of conflicts with al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Iraq. Health professionals—including MDs trained in psychiatry and PhDs trained in behavioral psychology—have reportedly advised and assisted in coercive interrogation. Health professionals have also been involved in forced feedings. Such practices would not be unique to the United States nor the most extreme forms of abuse in the world.
The direct involvement of medical professionals in torture and covering up extrajudicial killings is a phenomenon common to many countries. The rules are sometimes obvious, responsibility is clearly defined, and violations are flagrant. In other situations, it is difficult to draw such clear lines. A reexamination of the international norms, as developed in human rights law, humanitarian law, and professional ethics can shed light on these issues.
This event will commemorate the newest Harvard University Press publication by the Human Rights Program, “Interrogations, Forced Feedings, and the Role of Health Professionals.” The event will feature four panelists who contributed to the volume, and will be moderated by Professor Ryan Goodman, Rita E. Hauser Professor of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law and Director of the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School. Panelists for the event include:
Scott Allen
Assistant Professor (Clinical) Medicine, Brown University
Co-Director, The Center for Prisoner and Health Rights
Medicine as Profession Fellow, Physicians for Human Rights
Robert Jay Lifton
Lecturer on Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Former Director, Center on Violence and Human Survival at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Stephen Soldz
Director of the Center for Research, Evaluation, and Program Development at the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis
Founder, Psychoanalysts for Peace and Justice
Leonard Rubenstein
President and former Executive Director, Physicians for Human Rights
Jennings Randolph Senior Fellow, United States Institute of Peace
Stephen Soldz
Director, Center for Research, Evaluation, and Program Development
Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis
1581 Beacon St.
Brookline, MA 02446
"This Palestinian Life" shares stories of nonviolent struggle in Palestinian rural communities in the face of the Israeli occupation. Filmmaker Philip Rizk meets with villagers in the Gaza Strip, Jordan Valley, and the South Hebron Hills who have endured home demolitions, imprisonment, settler attacks, and other forms of oppression that threaten their very way of life.
Some Palestinians return violence with violence. Most Palestinians don't. Nonviolent struggle often takes the shape of demonstrations, boycotts, and civil disobedience to counter illegal methods of expansion. For Palestinians, this struggle more often resembles sumoud (steadfastness) and perseverance, as they find creative and bold ways of remaining on their land and in their villages despite the occupation.
This film exposes the rarely told story of community-based resistance against the unjust policies of an occupying state.
AND
From Camp to Prison: Palestinian Networks of Care and Struggle
"From Camp to Prison" chronicles how a Palestinian refugee community managesthe toll that political prison takes on its residents, young and old. The residents of Aida Refugee Camp, just north of Bethlehem, have long played an active role in resisting occupation. The costs of this commitment have been high. Some mothers and fathers have been visiting sons and daughters in prison for decades. They rise before dawn to travel to distant prisons for treasured visits to their loved ones. Through protest and commemoration,and through photographs and token gifts, they find ways of making their family members present in everyday life. Released prisoners have reshaped their forms of activism to fit new personal and political circumstances.
But prison has remained a contemporary crisis in the camp. During the second Intifada, the separation wall was built meters from refugees' homes, and this instigated renewed popular protest. A new generation has faced waves of nighttime arrests. Family members have tried to cope with the economic, educational, and social damage that prison can incur on young youth. A community center has educated teenagers who are likely targets of arrest campaigns on how to avoid giving interrogators information. Through observational footage and interviews, this documentary examines how Palestinians create networks of care and struggle in the face of tremendous pressure.
Learn about the devasting environmental effects of this coal mining practice. The Mountaintop Removal Road Show is a traveling volunteer presentation that teaches people about the true costs of our nation's addiction to "cheap energy" from coal-fired power plants. Some of the most biologically diverse and productive temperate hardwood forests in the world are being eliminated by mountaintop removal coal mining. This presentation includes a 20-minute slide show about the impacts of mountaintop removal on coalfield residents, communities and the environment, and features traditional Appalachian mountain music and shocking aerial photos of decapitated Appalachian mountains. Free admission.
On March 18 Rashid Khalidi, author of Sowing Crisis: the Cold War and American Dominance in the Middle East, will discuss his new book at Cambridge Forum.
For over 45 years in the Cold War, the U.S. and Soviet Union engaged in a deadly global rivalry, using political and military policy to win allies and exert power. How did these Cold War strategies shape the political and ideological landscape in the Middle East? What was impact of American policy, driven to win the Cold War “regardless of cost, to the nation states and their economies in this most dangerous region? Is there a connection between American need to defeat the Russians by humiliating their friends in the Middle East and wide spread support for the 9/11 attacks among the “Arab street”? Recognizing the U.S. historical standing in the Middle East, what should the new Obama presidency do?
Rashid Khalidi is the Edward Said Chair in Arab Studies and the Director of the Middle East Institute at Columbia University. Considered as the pre eminent scholar among U.S. historians of the Middle East, he is the author of five major books and more than seventy-five articles on Middle Eastern history and politics.
Book signing, courtesy of Harvard Book Store, follows.
Cambridge Forum is taped and edited for public radio broadcast. Edited CDs are available to the public by contacting 617-495-2727. Select forums can be viewed in their entirety on demand by visiting our website at www.cambridgeforum.org and clicking on the WGBH Forum Network.
These days, working families are struggling every day to make ends meet. While we make hard choices and sacrifices, big corporations and corporate executives collect government bailouts, get big bonuses, and continue their corporate boondoggles.
Bank of America, Merrill Lynch and Fidelity Investments have taken tax dollars and yet refuse to use the funds to help our struggling families.
To make matters worse, Bank of America has gone on the warpath to fight real reforms that would help working families, such as the Employee Free Choice Act.
Let's tell them Enough is Enough!
Can't make it to Boston for noon but want to be part of the action? A list of locations around Massachusetts will be available soon. Email us and we will set you up with a tool kit to start your own action!
For more information please call (617) 524-8778 or email jennifer@massjwj.net
Jointly sponsored by the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard University
Bring candles and signs that reflect your feelings about …
LET US NOT FORGET!
We are fighting two wars in which thousands of US soldiers have died or have been wounded and hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians have been killed and wounded.
We are spending BILLIONS on these wars while teachers are not hired, houses are not built, and families go without food, shelter, and healthcare; and an economic depression brings more and more unemployment, foreclosures, and despair.
Sponsored by: The United for Justice with Peace Coalition, the Justice with Peace Task Force of Watertown Citizens for Environmental Safety, Newton Dialogues on Peace and War, and Waltham Concerned Citizens. Call 617-926-8560 #2.
Richard Stallman, MacArthur Fellow and President of the Free Software Foundation, argues that copyright does great harm when applied to today’s technological environment of online collaboration and peer-to-peer sharing. Developed for the age of the printing press and currently enforceable only through draconian punishments, the system infringes upon freedoms, which have become essential to network users. Stallman offers an alternative way for copyright to provide its intended benefits to the public without negating our freedoms.
The Consulates of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Boston and New York invites you to a Panel & Discussion:
-Noam Chomsky: American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, political activist, author, and lecturer. Known as the father of modern linguistics, this libertarian socialist is one of the most prolific writers in the U.S. Prof. Chomsky is an Institute Professor Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Linguistics at MIT.
-Julio Chávez: Political activist, journalist and electronic engineer. As Mayor of Torres Municipality of Venezuela (2004-2008), Julio radically transformed the local government system by promoting citizens' participation in all decision making, encouraging the creation of hundreds of Communal Councils which now control their Municipality budget and planning. In 2008, President Hugo Chávez appointed Julio to serve in the Presidential Commission on Communal Power. http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/2359
-Michael Albert. MIT graduate, economist, lecturer, writer and longtime political and social activist. Michael co-founded Z Magazine and South End Press, and is co-editor of Znet. Michael is a recognized advocate for democratic participatory economy planning, authoring sixteen books on the subject, including “Parecon: Life After Capitalism”.
Moderator: Gregory Wilpert, writer and editor of Venezuelanalysis.com
In 1974-75 in Portugal, the working class overthrew fascism, broke down the military, took factories and whole towns from the hands of their bosses and political oppressors, and radically transformed society in the interest of ordinary people. Workers nearly took over the whole country and government in a revolution from below, but were betrayed and beat back in a counter-revolution.
Nonetheless, from the role of liberation movements against war and soldiers' rebellion, to the role of competing classes, politics and organization in the movement, to the very process of the development of mass revolutionary consciousness and action, this explosion of working class self-empowerment has left us a vast wealth of inspiration and lessons for our work in transforming society today.
Come to discuss what a revolution in our lifetime (or our parents' lifetime) did look like--and could look like again! Spread the word!
***Suggested reading***
"Portugal 1974-75: Popular Power," Peter Robinson from REVOLUTIONARY REHEARSALS, ed., Colin Barker
available to read online at google books http://books.google.com/books?id=m-ekf1g5llUC
available for purchase at Haymarketbooks.org and also at this meeting.
sponsored by:Light Refreshments will be served. Senator Robledo will deliver remarks in Spanish, with simultaneous English translation provided.
Take advantage of this unique opportunity to speak with Senator Jorge Robledo, an prominent member of the National Senate in Colombia. The AFL-CIO Solidarity Center has been trying to build ties with Colombian trade unionists who are routinely assassinated in Colombia (more than any other country in the world combined) for speaking up for their rights. Senator Robledo has fought shoulder to shoulder with the Unions and the civic groups focusing on the plight of the indigenous peoples and small scale farmers of Colombia. He is a staunch opponent of the Free Trade Agreement with the United States and with the European Union. Senator Robledo has recently been cofounder of the ?Polo Democratico Alternativo? (Democratic Alternative Pole). Before his transition into political life, the Senator was a professor at the National University in Manizales, Colombia and a syndicated columnist for several Colombian newspapers.
contact@ColombiaVive.org
Colombia Vive is an all-volunteer human rights organization that supports efforts for peace, human rights, and social justice in Colombia. We defend and support civilian groups in Colombia that share our perspective.
We condemn all forms of political violence and therefore do not support any of the armed actors in the Colombian conflict.
Councilor Turner has fought for human rights and stood up for the marginalized for over four decades, and now he is under attack by the government for doing so. I believe it is crucial for us to stand with Councilor Turner as he fights this racially- and politically-motivated prosecution so that he can continue to be a strong voice for justice.
Councilor Turner and supporters will be at this event to talk about the case. There will also be great food as well as beer and wine. The goal is to raise $5,000 at this party of the estimated $20,000 to cover his campaign and legal expenses. If you can't make the party but want to contribute to the cause, you can make a check out to "Committee to Re-elect Chuck Turner” and mail it to David Ludlow at the address below. He can accept up to $500 per person per year. There is no limit per household.
On March 20, 2009, South End Press and the Progressive Librarians Guild (GSLIS, Simmons College) will co-sponsor an event in celebration of Small Press Month. Hosted by Simmons College, “Read. Write. Revolt.—The Legacy of South End Press” will bring together small press authors, editor/publishers, readers, and allies to consider the evolving—and imperiled—role of independent publishing in advancing both groundbreaking literature and movements for social justice.
South End Press (www.southendpress.org
Over the last three decades vibrant small presses like Third Woman and Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press have gone quiet, despite the tremendous popularity of and need for their work. And today, sister presses continue to be shuttered or swallowed by profit-driven corporations at an alarming rate. Why do small presses close, and what are the consequences? How can we safeguard and nourish independent publishing? South End Press and the Progressive Librarians Guild invite the entire community to join this working discussion on the future of small press publishing and the stakes it bears for us all. For, as best-selling author Sherman Alexie puts it: “The small presses represent what is most brave, crazy and beautiful about our country and our literature.”
Hosted by Simmons College, and co-sponsored by South End Press and the Progressive Librarians Guild, this multimedia literary program will bring together small press authors, independent filmmakers, editor/publishers, readers, and allies to consider the evolving—and imperiled—role of independent publishing in advancing both groundbreaking literature and movements for social justice. Panelists include authors Frank B. Wilderson III, Robert Dellelo, and Jared Sexton; and South End Press collective members Asha Tall and Jocelyn Burrell. In honor of Small Press Month 2009 (www.smallpressmonth.org
Panelists (live and via videochat):
Frank B. Wilderson, III, professor of drama and African American studies (UC Irvine), filmmaker, and author of Incognegro: A Memoir of Exile and Apartheid (South End Press, 2008), a winner of the 2008 American Book Award
Robert Dellelo, prison abolitionist and coauthor of When the Prisoners Ran Walpole: A True Story in the Prison Abolition Movement (South End Press, 2008)
Jared Sexton, professor of film/media and African American studies (UC Irvine), and author of Amalgamation Schemes: Antiblackness and the Critique of Multiracialism (University of Minnesota Press, 2008)
Asha Tall, editor/publisher (South End Press collective)
Jocelyn Burrell, editor/publisher (South End Press collective) and editor of Word. On Being a [Woman] Writer (Feminist Press, 2004)
About Small Press Month
Small Press Month, now in its 13th year, is a nationwide celebration highlighting the valuable work produced by independent publishers. Held annually in March, Small Press Month raises awareness about the need for broader venues of literary expression. From March 1–31, independent, literary events will take place from coast-to-coast, showcasing some of the most diverse, exciting, and significant voices being published today. Visit www.smallpressmonth.org
Buses from across Massachusetts
Boston, MA - Forsyth Street
Details: Buses will depart on Friday, March 20 at
10 pm from Forsyth St., outside the Ruggles stop on
the Orange Line. Additional public transportation
available are buses to Ruggles, the #39 bus to Forsyth
St. & Huntington Ave., or the Green E Line to
Northeastern University. Private parking garage at
Ruggles available for about $10. Buses return early
morning on Sunday, March 22. Please note that the T
will not be running when we return. Please make every
effort to make prior arrangements to get home. We
will organize car pools and cab shares to the best of
our ability.
Tickets: $50 round trip, special discount price of $40
for students and low-income. Those who need additional
financial assistance should contact us for possible
scholarships; those who can should make additional
contribution when they buy their bus ticket. Click
here to purchase tickets online with a debit or credit
card using our secure server. Tickets can also be
purchased by check; an address to which to send checks
will be posted soon.
Get Involved: Activist meetings every Sunday afternoon
- contact us for more details, to get involved and to
help spread the word in your neighborhood, school,
church or organization.
Contact: ANSWER Boston
at bostonmabus@pentagonmarch.org or call 857.334.5084
Boston, MA - Copley Square
Details: Bus will depart at 11:00 pm on Friday,
March 20 from Copley Square, and return early Sunday
morning.
Tickets: $50 round trip, special discount price
of $40 for students and low-income. Click here to
purchase tickets through paypal (scroll down to the
paypal image).
Contact: New England United March 21 Mobilization
Committee at 617-281-5687
Boston, MA - Stonybrook T Stop
Details: Bus will depart at 11:00 pm on Friday,
March 20 from Stonybrook T Stop, and return early
Sunday morning.
Tickets: $50 round trip, special discount price
fo $40 for students and low-income. Click here to
purchase tickets through paypal (scroll down to the
paypal image).
Contact: New England United March 21 Mobilization
Committee at 617-640-9112
Amherst, MA
Details: Buses will be leaving from UMass,
Amherst Hagiis Mall at 3am on March 21 (the night of
March 20) and will return late the night of the 21st.
Tickets cost $50. Contact to get on the bus.
Contact: Western Mass. Campus Antiwar Network -
Natalia Tylim at amherstmabus@pentagonmarch.org or
917.375.1330.
Pittsfield, MA
Details: Bus leaving Berkshire Community College
at 11 pm on Friday, March 20, returning by 3 am on
Sunday, March 22. Tickets are $60 round trip.
Contact: Tim Wright - Berkshire Citizens for
Peace and Justice at pittsfieldmabus@pentagonmarch.org
or 413-997-3496
Go to http://www.pentagonmarch.org for more
information.
Witness on the Sixth Anniversary of the Iraq War; Fulfill the Promise–End the Occupation. Boston Common by Brewer Fountain (next to Park Street Station). We will read the names of U.S. and Iraqi war dead beginning at 10 am and ending at 2 pm. The Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations is taking the lead in organizing this.
Join the U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange to participate in a Labor delegation to Venezuela and Colombia.
2 weeks for $1, 750 * This includes round trip airfare from New York City
This delegation will be in Caracas, Venezuela from Saturday, March 21 to 28, 2009. Our hosts will be the Venezuelan Trade Union Federation . In Venezuela we will visit the Barrio Adentro project and the popular clinics. We will also visit the "educational misiones Sucre, Rivas and Robinson" and the Centro Endogeno which comprises of co-ops of different industries, clinics and other projects financed by the Venezuelan Revolution. This delegation will be in Bogota , Colombia from Sat. March 28,to Sat. April 4, 2009. Our hosts in Colombia will be the SINALTRAINAL. We will visit hospitals, schools, and worker centers and meet with social organizations.
The price of the trip will include: round trip airfare (from New York, JFK Airport to Caracas, Venezuela, Bogota, Colombia to New York, JFK Airport ) hotel(double occupancy), 2 meals per day (breakfast and dinner), internal transportation to and from the program, translation, visas and the program.* The price of $1,750 is good until the end of january, 2009, The price may increase for any application made after that date.
A group of trade unionists and workers are exercising their constitutional right to gather educational information and to have an exchange of ideas with other workers of the world. These rights are guaranteed by the US Constitution and by the International Human Rights declaration of the United Nations.
All questions MUST be completed. PLEASE PRINT neatly and/or type.
The original application must be submitted, with a copy of your passport attached and $300 deposit made payable to the Labor Exchange. All informat ion will be kept confidential
Legal Name (as it appears on passport):_____________________________________________
Address:__________________________________________________________________________
City_______________________________ State ______________________ Zip Code___________
Phone/Fax _____________________________e-mail: ____________________________________
Union/Organization__________________________________________________________________
How/from whom did you learn about the U.S./Cuba Labor Exchange ___________________________
Passport#_________________________________ Expiration Date_________________
Date of birth__________________________ Place of birth _________________________________
Please mail your application to:
US/Cuba Labor Exchange
P.O. Box 39188
Redford, MI 48239
(313) 587 9285
Scientific research suggests very alarming climate changes, and that we are nearing “tipping points”. Paleoclimatic records suggest that we need to take strong, immediate action. How do we effectively communicate the climate challenge, mobilize stronger action by more people, and help our communities make the transition to safe, clean, renewable energy?
At this workshop you will receive training, background information, and electronic access to a Sustainability Institute PowerPoint presentation that you can use as you wish. The resources and the training have been developed to help community leaders:
¨ Describe the latest climate science and what it means for our lives and the world;
¨ Summarize criteria for solutions that can sustain human civilization and earth’s ecosystems;
¨ Identify common emotions and reactions people have to the science, and share experience on how to respond effectively;
¨ Engage more people in education and action.
We’ll discuss approaches and strategies for reaching different populations. You’ll receive updates on advocacy and action campaigns from the MA Climate Action Network.
Many thanks to Cambridge Innovation Center for generously donating use of their space! This workshop is made possible by a generous grant to the Sustainability Institute and community volunteers.
Presenters:
Philip Rice, Ph.D., Sustainability Institute (www.sustainer.org). Dr. Rice directs the Our Climate Ourselves program of the Sustainability Institute, developing tools to help leaders communicate emerging climate science and solutions. He conducts workshops for sustainable development practitioners from around the world, and for colleges and universities, NGOs, and businesses. He works with SI's Climate Interactive Project helping to design web interface for a climate computer simulator/model being used by governments and organizations involved in the 2009 international climate treaty negotiations.
Tina Clarke, tinaclarke2@comcast.net, 413-863-5253. Tina Clarke has been a Campaign Director for Clean Water Action and an advocate, educator, consultant, and director of nonprofit programs since 1985. She led a national citizen advocacy training program for 16 faith denominations, and directed Greenpeace USA's citizen activist network. She provides consulting and training on citizen-based energy solutions and is a certified Transition Towns Trainer (www.transitiontowns.org).
To register: Email vanessarule@gmail.com If you have questions, please call Vanessa at 617-628-2571. Please bring cash or a $15 check made out to Somerville Climate Action to the event. Scholarships available.
Co-sponsored by the Sustainability Institute, Clean Water Action, First Parish Cambridge (Unitarian Universalist),
Cambridge Green Decade Coalition, Greenport, Mass Climate Action Network, Somerville Climate Action
Directions:
VIA THE T - Take Red Line to Kendall Square, Cambridge. One Broadway is across the street.
BY CAR
(1) IDENTIFYING RETAIL PRODUCTS MADE IN ISRAEL
Examine the UPC ("Universal Product Code") section of the product's label. (This is a bar code with 10-12 numeric digits at bottom.) If the FIRST THREE DIGITS are 729, the product is made in Israel. (The "7" will appear to left of the leftmost bar in the bar code.)
HTTP://www.inminds.co.uk/boycott-israel.php
(2) LIST OF COMPANIES WITH CONNECTIONS TO ISRAEL:
26 prominent companies with links to info
http://www.inminds.co.uk/boycott-israel.html#list
(3) BRANDS & LABELS TO BOYCOTT:
123 prominent brands and labels with links to info
http://www.inminds.co.uk/boycott-brands.html
Tell the Obama Administration and Congress: End the Bush Administration's Frame Ups Designed to Politically Assassinate Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner and Other Progressive elected Leaders
Sign online petition at www.iacboston.org/chuckturnerpetition.html
View youtube video of Ramsey Clark press conference defending Chuck Turner at: www.youtube.com/user/IACBoston
For more info and to donate to Chuck's defense, go to www.supportchuckturner.com
US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation How You Can Sustain the US Campaign
To generate more momentum and bring us closer to our goal, we need sustained support. That's why we're asking you to join our Olive Branch Club and make a regular monthly tax-deductible contribution of $5-$200 per month.
IMEMC (Internal Middle East Media Center) seeks urgent funding and/or logistical support to maintain its operations.
One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. it is simply too painful to acknowledge ~ even to ourselves ~ that we've been so credulous: Carl Sagan
Here is a must see hour-long BBC film that effectively makes the case that the "war on terror" is a blatant scam to keep people fearful, politicians powerful and provide an effective smokescreen for the implementation of the New World Order. A must see video.
After watching this film you will always cringe when you hear the phrase "The War on Terror " and recognize it as both a bamboozle and scam perpetrated by the prince of darkness himself, Richard Perle, as well as Tony Blair and the Cheney/Bush crime syndicate in order to accomplish their global neocon objectives.
From U.S. Rep John Conyers: A Serious Reformer Needed for Surgeon General
Earlier this month I raised concerns about the trial balloon floated for Surgeon General, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
The doctor is a health commentator for CNN who dispenses medical advice with a breezy style appropriately suited to the brief two-minute segments of television. While he has earned praise for his television persona, there are undeniable drawbacks that would limit his effectiveness as an advocate for the comprehensive health care reform this country urgently needs.
The TV Doctor has close ties to the pharmaceutical and health care industries and for not disclosing the sources of his speaking fees which command up to $50,000 per appearance.
His strong criticisms of reform beg the question whether his cozy relationships with the health care industry would compromise his ability to lead the U.S. Public Health Service and serve as a vocal advocate for change.
Please Act Now. Demand a Serious Reformer for Surgeon General.
Too many questions linger about the qualifications of Sanjay Gupta for him to lead our Public Health Service. Thank you again for your commitment to a better democracy.
Your Friend,
John Conyers, Jr.
If you could help end modern-day slavery in Florida's fields with an email, would you?
Click here to take action today!
Even as we continue putting the pieces together for a major campaign calling on food service providers to take responsibility for farmworker exploitation, the latest case of slavery in Florida's fields - and Florida Governor Charlie Crist's deafening silence in response - compels us to take action in a different way today.
Please visit the SFA site (sfalliance.org) today and read the below message from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to find out more about this important action alert and to take action now.
Obama's nominee for Deputy Secretary of Defense, the chief operating officer of the Pentagon, is a lobbyist for Raytheon.
William Lynn, is due $1.5 million in payouts for his work lobbying for the defense industry. This revolving door has to stop. We need to break the military-industrial complex and stop having defense contractors and their lobbyists working on the inside of the Pentagon.
Please take two steps:
Write the Armed Services Committee and tell them to reject the nomination. The message - no defense contractor lobbyists inside the Pentagon.
Write President Obama and urge him to withdraw the nomination and replace it with an independent voice who will look critically on the bloated military budget.
Our task is bigger than ending the Iraq and Afghanistan wars - it is to challenge the military- industrial complex that has resulted in a military budget as big as the whole world combined. The nomination of William Lynn is an opportunity to say no to lobbyists inside the Pentagon.
Kevin B. Zeese, Executive Director
Voters For Peace
From Progressive Democrats of America:
"Healthcare, NOT Warfare"
And from Truth & Justice Radio:
"Single Payer, NOT extending Medicare"
Conversion to Single Payer should be included in the
"stimulus" package as it would increase health care
jobs, lower costs for employers, and cost a tiny
fraction of the $700-900 billion stimulus package.
It is estimated that 60% of home foreclosures are due
to a health care crisis on the part of a home owner.
[COMMENT FROM STAN: One person at PDA has bought
somebody's claim that the best way to do this is to
incrementally extend Medicare to all ages (i.e.,
descend the age requirement slowly). It comforts him
that this idea is showing some support in Congress and
the Executive branch. This is frightening. We know
that extending Medicare is NOT the best way. For many
reasons, we need 100% Single Payer, NOT more Medicare.
Medicare, with its thicket of substantial exclusions,
deductibles, copays, gaps, limits, provider
writedowns, privatization scams, and regressive
financing scheme, would be the WRONG way to go.
Congressmembers supporting Medicare extension should
be regarded as dangerous.]
PDA asks that we read the article
linked here.
PDA board member Norman Solomon points out in another
article (
We say "Healthcare NOT Warfare" and ask you to join
our campaign. The time has come to redirect
unnecessary and wasteful military spending to meeting
human needs.
PDA's suggested petition
asks to prioritize "Healthcare NOT Warfare."
In 2008, dozens of local and state parties passed
resolutions supporting single-payer healthcare, and
rejecting the occupation of Iraq. With our allies,
PDA successfully amended the 2008 Democratic Party
Platform to include "guaranteed health care for every
man, woman, and child" and "everybody in, nobody left
out." We hope to pass more resolutions to support
"Healthcare NOT Warfare" at the local and state
Democratic conventions, and in cities, counties, and
states across the country.
Do you know about the Fusion Center?
It knows about you.
Please take a moment to ask your state legislators to co-sponsor Senator Harriette Chandler's new bill -- An Act Regarding the Commonwealth Fusion Center and Other Intelligence Data Centers -- filed on behalf of the ACLU of Massachusetts.
So what is the Fusion Center anyway?
In the aftermath of 9/11, then-Governor Mitt Romney enlisted Massachusetts in a national plan to centralize and expand the government's ability to collect and retain detailed information on ordinary Americans, for the professed purpose of preventing terrorism.
Without public debate, Romney established the Commonwealth Fusion Center, a multi-agency data-mining hub which enables federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to comb through information about Massachusetts residents and engage in domestic intelligence collection beyond the bounds of ordinary criminal investigations.
Take action now! Find and contact your legislators. Urge them to support Senator Chandler's bill to provide oversight of the Commonwealth Fusion Center.
Historically, unregulated database-driven policing has led to broad surveillance of completely lawful activities, including protected First Amendment activity -- and it's happening again in Massachusetts in 2009.
The Fusion Center operates today with virtually no independent oversight, without adequate privacy protections, and without necessary protections for constitutional rights. With your help, we can -- and must -- shine a light on the Fusion Center's operations and insist that any intelligence operations in Massachusetts be conducted in keeping with established civil liberties principles.
The ACLU of Massachusetts Legislative Team
The Employee Free Choice Act is critical to our economic recovery. Good union jobs helped build America's middle class. This legislation will rekindle the American Dream by leveling the playing field and empowering workers to form unions and bargain for a better life.
That's why greedy CEOs are terrified of this bill. One top executive has called it "the demise of a civilization." And they're fighting with underhanded tactics, misleading ads, shady front groups and, of course, big budgets.
But we can win if enough of us get involved. Members of Congress have a weeklong break this month, and we've planned hundreds of lobby meetings at their home offices. Imagine those workers handing over our petition and being able to say, "Two million people support the Employee Free Choice Act."
a href=http://freechoiceact.org>Move us closer to 2 million signatures--it just takes one minute.
Disgrace for Democracy, Israel is detaining right now 40% of the Palestinian MPs who represent the people
Disgrace for Democracy: 51 Palestinian MPs and Ministers are Detained in Israeli prisons along with 11.870 Palestinian citizens
A serious crime and new political slap in the face for democracy is committed by the Zionist system against representatives of the Palestinian people by the abduction of the Palestinian ministers and MPs. The latest of which was the arrest of MP Ahmed al-Haj from the city of Nablus on 16/12/2007. Al-Haj is over Seventy-years old.
Earlier on the 10th MP Dr. Maryiam Saleh Minister for Women in the Palestinian government has been abducted too. Dr Mariyam is a member in the Legislative Council from Ramallah governorate.
The Minister of Palestinian Prisoner is in prison since many years... for the fifth time.
There are more than 11,870 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, 117 of them are mothers. Some give birth while chained, and their children are forced to live in the cells where they do not live their childhood or play or go out.
I don't have to tell you about lack of healthy conditions, or medical negligence. Some prisoners are denied warm clothes sent to them by their families. They are held in 30 different prisons, and detention centers. 1189 prisoners are schools, collage, and universities students of both genders, 330 of the detained are children. Not only the students were detained, but their teachers too, there are 107 Palestinian teachers in Israeli prisons. 1150 Palestinian prisoners suffer acute illnesses.
A large number of the detained are denied visits by family members.
Thousands of Palestinian detainees in the Negev desert prison and other detention camps such as Ofer prison near the town of Ramallah, Hawara, Qadumim, Megiddo, Nafha, Beer Sheva, Ashkelon and other prisons are shivering from the cold under waves of rain and snowfall coming from northern regions of the world especially that some are detained inside tents made of cloth surrounded by walls open to the cruel cold of the desert, living in wet tents caused by snow falls and rain, sleeping on boards made of wood which gets soaked wet.
Soon, April 17th is the International day of prisoners. I hope you can join in denouncing what the Israeli government is doing to those prisoners, and demand their release to join their families.
Do not rely on journalism to get the news, journalists were the first to be attacked and harassed so that you do not know what was going on.
The records documented 1147 aggressive attacks on journalists by the Israelis. Only between 28th of September 2000, and 31st of March 2007.
Please sign the petition and buy those prisoners some happiness.
We are hoping to get at least 11.000 signitures, one for each prisoner, and present this petition to International Human Rights bodies like Amnesty International, and United Nations. Please Circulate this petition to all the people you can get the message through to them. It is about time we show solidarity for each other on human level.
Sponsored by:
Iqbal Tamimi Creator of Palestinian Mothers Network
The Best Way To Light A Fire For Federal Prosecutions of Bush And Cheney Is To Get Collateral State Actions Going.
We have completed compiling a database of the current contact information for every state district attorney, for EVERY county in the country. And we have put it all together into an easy one click lookup function to help organize contacting your nearest state prosecutor, to call on THEM to step up to the plate, to stand up for justice and accountability, by prosecuting George Bush and Dick Cheney for their crimes.
In particular, renowned former prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi has laid out a compelling case for charging both Bush and Cheney with the premediated murder of American service men and women, for starting a war with Iraq on patently false pretenses. By using this new lookup page you can instantly get the mailing address, phone, fax, and in many cases also the email of your local prosecutor. This action is SO critical we have dedicated our entire main site homepage to it.
IMPORTANT NOTE: We are not asking anyone to file a formal criminal complaint yourself. Common sense tells us that state prosecutors will only act, in the exercise of their OWN discretion, if they believe there is a non-frivolous case to bring. But by speaking out, we can let them know there is community support for them to do so.
Israel's recent war on the occupied Gaza Strip brought death and destruction to Palestinians, and a windfall for war profiteers. Around the world, people are standing up and saying "No more" by boycotting and divesting from corporations that profit from Israel's human rights abuses. The people of Stockholm have severed their contract with the transit/waste removal corporation Veolia due to Veolia's involvement with Israel's settlements, and British Telecom company FreedomCall has ceased their cooperation with Israeli counterpart MobileMax due to the war on Gaza.
Join this growing global movement for boycotting, divesting from and sanctioning (BDS) those who support Israel's military occupation of Palestinian territories by becoming an organizer for our Hang Up On Motorola campaign. Motorola makes a lot more than cell phones - they also make at least four products that directly support Israel's occupation of and assaults on Palestinians. This is why we've created a tool-kit for boycotting Motorola until its products are no longer used by Israel to abuse Palestinian human rights.
Why Motorola?.
Bomb Fuses: Motorola Israel sells fuses that the Israeli Air Force uses in its MK-80 series of bombs. On July 30, 2006, during its war on Lebanon, the Israeli Air Force dropped an MK-84 bomb on an apartment building in Qana, Lebanon, killing at least 28 civilians.
Communication Devices for Occupation: Motorola's $100 million "Mountain Rose" communication system enhances the efficiency of Israeli occupying forces. Patterns of human rights violations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories include, but are not limited to, the killing and injuring of civilians, torture, extra-judicial assassinations, deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure, acts of collective punishment, and economic warfare.
Surveillance Devices for Israel's Illegal Wall: Motorola supplies the "Wide Area Surveillance System" (WAAS) to monitor and maintain Israel's illegal wall, constructed in violation of the July 2004 International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion. This wall is perhaps the strongest symbol of Israeli Apartheid, carving the West Bank into Bantustans. Surveillance Devices for Israel's Illegal
Settlements: Motorola has made $93 million providing radar detection devices and thermal cameras for 47 illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land. Israel's confiscation of Palestinian land, its illegal settlements, illegal wall, and continued occupation would not be possible without Motorola's compliance.
The truth is buried about Israel's occupation of Palestine through sophisticated repetition of irrelevant rhetoric, distorted shuffling of time and placement of people's histories and other devious ways of keeping many afraid to form an opinion or act on outrage.
Well, here's a good cure for that - pick up a copy of Occupation 101 and you won't have to worry about being on any fences in regards to this issue. This highly informative video documentary will keep your mind attentive and clear all cobwebs in the brain by getting to the root cause of violence from the occupier and resistance from the occupied, all embellished with current examples and very pertinent comparisons to Apartheid South Africa.
A thought-provoking and powerful documentary film on the current and historical root causes of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Unlike any other film ever produced on the conflict - 'Occupation 101' presents a comprehensive analysis of the facts and hidden truths surrounding the never ending controversy and dispels many of its long-perceived myths and misconceptions.
The film also details life under Israeli military rule, the role of the United States in the conflict, and the major obstacles that stand in the way of a lasting and viable peace. The roots of the conflict are explained through first-hand on-the-ground experiences from leading Middle East scholars, peace activists, journalists, religious leaders and humanitarian workers whose voices have too often been suppressed in American media outlets.
The film covers a wide range of topics -- which include -- the first wave of Jewish immigration from Europe in the 1880's, the 1920 tensions, the 1948 war, the 1967 war, the first Intifada of 1987, the Oslo Peace Process, Settlement expansion, the role of the United States Government, the second Intifada of 2000, the separation barrier and the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, as well as many heart wrenching testimonials from victims of this tragedy.
Tripoli Productions, DVD, NTSC all regions, 1.5 hour
plus bonus features.
leftbooks.com
From our activist friend Sandy Coy, who runs a weekly vigil Thursday afternoons in Wayland:
I am writing to ask activists, as well as my family and others who are not political activists, to join me in a simple action to launch what the whole world hopes will be a fresh start in a better direction. I feel I must write after reading a book today that one of my children gave me for Christmas, "Poems from Guantanamo: The Detainees Speak."
Most of the detainees do not know these poems were saved, declassified (much of their writing still has not been), translated and published. But it has happened, through the persistent work of many volunteer legal advocates. In these poems, the goodness of many souls and their hope in God and their fellow men for justice comes through. Some of the poems moved me to tears of both sorrow and shame.
But tears for them or anyone unjustly imprisoned will do no good. Doing something as simple as writing a brief card can actually help people who are being unjustly imprisoned.
How? When prisoners receive volumes of international mail, their jailers know they have lost the cover of anonymity. This leads to better treatment for the prisoner and ultimately their release, just to get the public spotlight to go away.
So, here's what I am asking of myself, my family and of you, which shouldn't take more than a few minutes:
Write out one or more cards for selected prisoners of conscience from any of 12 countries (one is a Guantanamo detainee) identified by Amnesty International.
This card to a prisoner of conscience is probably going to mean more than any other card we sent this year.From the Palestinian Center for Rapprochement Between
People (via our correspondent Mazin Qumsiyeh):
So far hundreds of civilians have been killed in Gaza.
Five sisters in one family, four other children in
another home, two children on a cart drawn by a
donkey. Universities, colleges, police stations,
roads, apartment buildings were all targeted. The UN
Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied
Palestinian areas issued a statement that "The Israeli
airstrikes on the Gaza Strip represent s evere and
massive violations of international humanitarian law
as defined in the Geneva Conventions, both in regard
to the obligations of an Occupying Power and in the
requirements of the laws of war."
Twenty-five things to do to bring peace with justice:
1) First get the facts and then disseminate them.
Here are some basic background information
The Lucy Parsons Center is proud to demonstrate that an all-volunteer, collectively-run radical bookstore and community center can survive in the capitalist United States, but the majority of our income comes from book sales and most of that goes straight to pay our landlord and bills.
That's why we need you! Without support from our community, we could not continue to function.
As the year draws to a close we are asking you to pledge to support the Lucy Parsons Center in 2009. We want 100 new monthly supporters kicking in $5 a month to help ensure our ability to offer radical books, talks, workshops, movies, meeting spaces, and whatever else you want to see happen as we work to build the better world.
100 supporters sounds like a lot and we are challenging ourselves to meet this goal. On the other hand, $5 a month isn't that much. It's the price of a beer with tip, less than a falafel, and come January less than the priority mail postage you'd have to pay to order the books you can ONLY find at the LPC over the internet.
Lucy Parsons Center
549 Columbus Avenue
Boston's South End
Telephone: (617) 267-6272
Email: lucyparsons@tao.ca
From Lexington Global Warming Action Coailtion LGWAC
In an 11th hour, blatant, political move that is similar to the one Ted Stevens tried to pull in 2005, on December 12, Congressman James Oberstar (D-MN) launched an effort to derail Cape Wind (proposed windfarm of 130 turbines in Nantucket Sound off Massachusetts).
Oberstar sent a letter to Commandant Thad Allen of the Coast Guard "requesting" an extraordinary and unprecedented review of the Coast Guard's OK as regards navigation hazards.
Oberstar's letter comes at the request of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, a group backed and fronted by Bill Koch, CEO of Oxbow. Oxbow's primary businesses are the mining and marketing of energy and commodities such as coal, petroleum coke, oil production, and composite pipe manufacturing. The Alliance's central mission is to stop Cape Wind, no matter what it takes, and has spent well over $15 million dollars, primarily on lawsuits, lobbying efforts and deliberate public relations campaigns promoting fearmongering and misinformation.
So we need you to help resist this maneuvering, and here's how.
ACTIONS:
1. Call Chairman Oberstar's offices
Washington DC: (202) 225-6211
Duluth, MN: (218) 727-7474
Tell him he should withdraw his request to the Coast
Guard Commandant.
2. Call the Coast Guard's public affairs office:
Telephone: (202) 372-4620
Tell them you support their efforts and to stand up to
Oberstar's bullying and that the American people
support Cape Wind and clean renewable energy.
3. Hit up Commandant
Thad Allen on his Facebook page
Tell him you support him and will join him in standing
up to Oberstar's bullying and that the American people
support Cape Wind and clean renewable energy.
Please call right away.
The damage from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike persist in Cuba. Tens of thousands homes need to be rebuilt, while building supplies remain limited due to the US Embargo. The following contacts can be used to assist Cuba in its continued reconstruction.
The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD) in Jerusalem has been informed that its request for re-funding has been rejected, in high probability because of pressure brought to bear by right-wing Israeli neo-cons who have campaigned obsessively against our funding while threatening publicly to close us down.
Tax-deductible donations needed.
We have quietly been working away at TecsChange in Roxbury to refurbish computers. We recently sent one of our bigger shipments of 15 computers to a series of radio stations in Oaxaca, Mexico.
We work most Thurday evenings and Saturday afternoons
(1pm to at least 4 PM, usually longer)
We have one day a week where daytime volunteers come in. Presently it's Mondays but it might change soon.
Please call if you are interested.
TecsChange Office
617-442-4456
Doris Tennant and Ellen Lubell (of Newton) are representing a Guantanamo prisoner pro bono, so they are providing their time at no charge. However, their costs, including their own travel and that of a translator, translator fees, and Freedom of Information Act requests, are running at least $20,000 for this year, and will likely continue at that same pace or more. Most of the other attorneys who are representing Guantanamo detainees are members of large law firms that can cover these types of expenses, but in their case the two of them are the firm.
If you would like to make a contribution to help them defray costs, it would be much appreciated. Please make your check payable to "Tennant Lubell Detainee Fund." Your contribution will NOT be tax-deductible, but they promise to put it to good use to help provide fundamental legal rights to a man who remains in indefinite detention.
Doris Tennant, Esq.
Tennant Lubell, LLC
288 Walnut Street, Suite 500
Newton, MA 02460
617-969-9610, X 101
Fax: 617-969-9611
Just a friendly reminder that the holidays are coming and what better gift to give than a bottle of fairly traded extra-virgin olive oil from Palestine. We have plenty of oil available and should be able to fill all orders for the holidays. Think about buying a case of oil and instead of bringing a bottle of wine to your next dinner party, bring a bottle of olive oil instead!
We now ship anywhere in the continental US; please see
our website for details . Olive Branch Olive Oil
comes directly from the Palestinian Agricultural
Relief Committees (PARC)
Olive oil is the backbone of the Palestinian agricultural economy. Eighty percent of cultivated land in Palestine is planted with olive trees, and the olive harvest provides between 25 to 50 percent of a farming family's annual income. As the political and economic situation in Palestine worsens, olive oil has become a matter of basic survival for many Palestinian families. Buying this oil is a constructive and tangible way to help alleviate poverty and build peace.
Olive Branch Olive Oil is extra-virgin and comes in 750 ml (25 ounce) green glass bottles. Produced from the first pressing of the olives, extra- virgin olive oil contains no more than 0.8% acidity, and is judged to have a superior taste. There can be no refined oil in extra-virgin olive oil. Unopened bottles of olive oil are generally good for up to two years, and should be kept in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight. Palestinian farmers traditionally care for their trees without the use of pesticides or sprays.
Olive Branch Olive Oil is an outgrowth of a 2003 effort by Middle East peace activists in the Boston area to support Palestinian farmers. Since then, it has evolved into an ongoing volunteer project to create a U.S. market for Palestinian olive oil. Our goal is to make a tangible difference in the lives of the farmers and their families.
Any funds that are raised above and beyond the cost of the oil, importing fees and administrative and marketing costs are re-invested in purchasing more oil. Out of that amount, 15% is donated directly to worthy projects in Palestine. Past donation recipients include:
Gush Shalom Emergency Relief Convoy
Badil
Palestinian Children's Relief Fund
Gaza Community Mental Health Program
Zochrot
Palestinian Medical Relief Committees
Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions
Birthright Unplugged
American Friends Svc. Comm. Middle East Crisis Fund
American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA)
Olive Harvest Coalition
Union of Palestinian Women's Committees
Ibdaa Cultural Center
Grassroots International
Taayoush
How to Order
On our website with PAYPAL
or send a check to P.O. Box 1064, Arlington, MA 02474.
Each case contains twelve (12) 750ml bottles.
Prices for local pick-up in Arlington or Cambridge:
Case price $170/case
Bulk price for 7+ cases: $150/case
Bulk price for 10+ cases: $145/case
Case price shipped within continental US: $195/case
3 Bottles shipped within continental US: $65/3 bottles
For more information.
Harvard's Palestine Solidarity Committee will be holding a vigil for Gaza from 11:45 am to 12:15 pm on the steps of Memorial Church in Harvard Yard. All who care for Palestine are invited to attend. Please wear black and spread the word widely.
These are the meetings where we decide on events and discuss strategies to end the war. Anyone is welcome -- from seasoned activists to beginners and we look forward to building a dialogue with anyone opposed to the war. Our main tenent is that we are independent of both the Democratic and the Republican Party, such that we can build an anti-war movement that survives elections and continues to oppose the war, regardless of which candidate is in office.
Meet briefly at the statue to exchange thoughts,
then walk silently around the Yard and nearby streets,
returning to the statue by 12:30pm.
Southeast corner of Rt 27 and 30 (nearest to Brooks Pharmacy).
Come for all or part. Bring a candle, lantern, or flashlight.
Organizer: Sandy Coy.
Join the Boston Tea Party Conference call,
Participant call in: 402-756-9100; Access code: 680903#
Socialist Alternative Radio, 91.5 FM Boston
listen anytime on the Web at WMFO.org. A democratic socialist, working-class view of politics and culture, including solidarity announcements, interviews, music, and more.
Write to us at BostonSAradio@aol.com.
Join a Friday fast and/or protest in solidarity with illegal detentions. The fast began in 2005 when Nobel Peace Laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Adolpho Esquivel, (Argentina), along with others around the world, chose this method to seek the release of our unjustly detained and tortured brothers and sisters.
In Boston, local activists Susan McLucas and Phoebe Knopf have joined the Friday fast and will protest every Friday in front of the JFK Building from noon to one. The action, which is rooted in nonviolence, includes speakers, music, hand-outs and petitions to create public pressure to stop all illegal detentions and to try those responsible for the illegal treatment of thousands of detainees, most of whom are Arab and Muslim men. Susan and Phoebe will be wearing orange jumpsuits.
On this day, Friday and from there on!, we hereby declare the
establishment of a new DeMilitarized Zone where all those who wish can
congregate to denigrate and repudiate the war machine and celebrate the
growth of the new movement from coast to coast willing to oppose the war and opression in
this country and around the world. Bring your signs, and minds, let's
chalk, talk, play music, paint art with caring and sharing and declaring
that we are "chilling *against* the villins" in this zone to show our
independence!!!!!
We declare our solidarity with the people of the Middle East who share
the misfortune of living on top of the largest oil reserves on the
planet which is the reason behind the current war on Iraq. We declare
our condemnation of those who support this criminal war commanded by
criminals who promote a criminal ideology with criminal intent and
crimes against humanity. We repudiate with prejudice the general assault
on our rights: abuses, excuses, jailings, raids, lies, spies,
xenophobia, torture, extraordinary rendition, and the general police
state system that says we must stand together and support this
generalized oppression. We are no longer the silent generation but are
now willing to Stand Apart and against the mass murdering villins who
are doin the real killin. Join us in the DMZ!!
Chillin against the villin's!!!
Our *DMZ* and our Independence.